Organizational Setting
The post is located in the Office of Support to Decentralization (OSD) at headquarters. OSD is the Organization’s focal point on all aspects related to Decentralized Offices and supports the Deputy Director-General Operations in the pursuit of the Organization’s unity of purpose.
Reporting Lines
The Programme Officer reports to the Senior Programme Officer.
Technical Focus
Policies and procedures related to the establishment, management and oversight of Decentralized Offices.
Coordination of support to Regional Conferences (acting as main interface between Regional Offices and headquarters).
Key Results
Decentralized Offices in the region/s or subregion/s assigned receive the guidance and support they require.
Effective guidance, and coordination of HQ support, for the organization of the Regional Conferences.
Key Functions
· monitors and analyses the status of Decentralized Offices under his/her responsibility; reviews relevant documents and reports; identifies problems and issues to be addressed and initiates corrective actions; liaises with relevant parties; ensures follow-up actions;
· contributes to policy development, including the review and analysis of issues and trends, generates survey initiatives; reviews, analyses and interprets responses, identifies problems/issues and prepares conclusions;
· organizes and finalizes written outputs, e.g. draft background papers, analyses, sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications;
· provides substantive backstopping to consultative and other meetings, conferences, to include proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations;
· initiates and coordinates outreach and communication-related activities; reviews and contributes to the development of learning materials, conducts training workshops, seminars; makes presentations on assigned topics/activities;
· leads and/or participates in field missions, including provision of guidance to Decentralized Offices and other parties and preparation of mission summaries.
Specific Functions
· follows developments in the Decentralized Offices, and provides support, including on linkages and relationships between headquarters and Decentralized Offices;
· provides information and support to the Decentralized Offices on decisions of FAO Governing Bodies on matters related to decentralization and organizational matters;
· monitors the dissemination and communication of headquarters decisions to Decentralized Offices to ensure information is effectively exchanged between headquarters and Decentralized Offices;
· monitors the performance of Decentralized Offices to ensure that effective support is provided and that any gaps identified are addressed, and recommends appropriate actions/decisions for consideration by OSD management;
· contributes to the negotiations for opening new Decentralized Offices or renegotiation of existing arrangements, including conducting missions and preparation of draft documentation (e.g. Host Country Agreements) with governments;
· monitors progress, identify issues for consideration and review by the Regional Conferences and for submission to Senior Management;
· coordinates and supports the organization of Regional Conferences and ensures that their conclusions and recommendations are properly reflected in corporate priorities and work plans;
· provides substantive inputs to FAO Web sites, information systems, databases and documents relevant for meetings of Governing Bodies on issues related to coordination and decentralization;
· acts as focal point in OSD for various issues including UN matters related to Decentralized Offices and organization of Field Visits by Permanent Representatives to FAO.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
· Advanced university degree in economics, business administration, management or related fields
· Seven years of relevant experience in coordination, decentralization, reform and programme matters in large national/international organization(s)
· Working knowledge of English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two or Arabic, Chinese, Russian
Competencies
· Results Focus
· Teamwork
· Communication
· Building Effective Relationships
· Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
· Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions, is desirable
· Relevance and extent of experience related to coordination, decentralization, reform and programme matters in large national/international organization(s)
· Extent of understanding of the functioning of the United Nations system and in particular of FAO’s structure, policies and procedures related to decentralized activities is desirable
· Good knowledge of the North Africa and Near East (NENA) region and its development issues is desirable
· Working knowledge of Arabic is desirable
· Relevance and extent of experience in the organization of major intergovernmental and/or inter-agency meetingsPlease note that all candidates should adhere toFAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
· The length of appointment for internal FAO candidates will be established in accordance with applicable policies pertaining to the extension of appointments
· All candidates should possess computer/word processing skills.
· Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which will be followed by a competency-based interview.
· Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your iRecruitment online profile (see “How to Apply”). We strongly recommend that you ensure that the information is accurate and complete including employment record, academic qualifications and language skills.
· Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognised in the IAU/UNESCO list.
· Other similar positions at the same level may be filled from this vacancy notice and the endorsed candidates will be considered for the Employment Roster for a period of 2 years.
· Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments.
REMUNERATION
A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. For information on UN salaries, allowances and benefits, click on the following link: http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/salaries_allowances/salary.htm
HOW TO APPLY:
To apply, visit the iRecruitment website at http://www.fao.org/employment/irecruitment-access/en/ and complete your online profile. Only applications received through iRecruitment will be considered.
Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile.
Vacancies will be removed from iRecruitment at 23:59 Central European Time (CET) on the deadline for applications date. We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.
If you need help, or have queries, please contact: iRecruitment@fao.org
